Winding Down
by bookworm03
Summary: End of Day 4, TM based...my first fanfic...COMPLETE as of right now...may continue at a later date...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Thanks again for finishing this up Tony. You'll need to come back here in the next couple of days once all the reports have gone through to sort out some last minute things, you know the drill…but for now you can go home."

Tony rose in succession with Curtis.

"Thanks Curtis." Tony mumbled.

"Are you sure you won't take the job Bill offered you? You'd be a great asset…"

"I appreciate that but…"

"I understand" Curtis jumped in. "I just want to say that, I know before I wasn't exactly accepting of your authority here, but I really do appreciate what you've done for us. We couldn't have gotten through today without you." Curtis extended a hand.

Tony shook it slowly but swallowed hard. "Jack's the real hero." He said while staring at the ground.

Curtis nodded silently in agreement.

"Go home, get some rest." Curtis eyed Tony's face and added as an afterthought. "Michelle's probably finished debriefing too."

"Thanks." Tony spoke barely audibly and walked out the room. Curtis couldn't help but smirk to himself. A few hours ago the mention of Michelle's name would've sent Tony into a sullen, bitter state. Now it was the only thing that was getting him through everything that had happened today, including the death of what was probably his only friend. Curtis began collecting a few loose pieces of paper and made his way back to his desk. He too wanted to get home.

Tony swallowed hard. He hoped Jack would be almost at, if not in Mexico by now. He wasn't expecting any sort of communication attempt on his part, but he owed Jack so much, and just wanted to make sure he was okay. _Who are you kidding here? _He thought to himself. _Of course he's okay…he's Jack. _At this Tony smiled. If there was anyone who would get through this it was Jack. He'd be fine, Tony knew it.

He was about to walk to Michelle's office to see if she was in there with Bill when he saw the corridor that lead to the holding rooms. He turned quickly and found the room with the Secret Service Agent. Tony wanted to break down the door and beat the living crap out of him. It was his fault Jack Bauer was "dead", Tony wanted him to pay. Despite the temptation though, he remained standing outside the door, just staring blankly at it, lost in thought. He felt a hand come to rest lightly in between his shoulders, snapping him out of his reverie. It was Audrey.

Tony turned and saw the tears in her eyes. He wanted to tell her that Jack was okay, that he wasn't dead, that she hadn't lost both of the men she'd loved in her life in less than twelve hours but he couldn't. All he could do was comfort her as best he could, and make sure she was taken care of. She looked at him pleadingly for some sort of response.

"You okay?" He asked her quietly.

He heard her swallow. The tears began to flow.

Tony hesitated only slightly before pulling her into a bear hug. As soon as he did Audrey lost all sense of composure and began to sob uncontrollably into his chest.

"I'm sorry Audrey. I'm so sorry." He cooed.

She nodded against him, unable to believe that she was opening up so much to someone who she'd never even met until yesterday. _But he knew Jack._ She reminded herself. _He's one of the few people who might actually understand how hard this is for you…And Jack trusted him above anyone else…which means you can too, he saved your life after all. _

Audrey pulled back from Tony.

"I just wanted to thank you for everything." She said bringing her voice back to its normal, controlled, rhythmic tone.

"You don't have to do this Audrey. You don't have to pretend…"

"Yes I do Tony." She interjected. "I have to stay in control, I can't think about this…"

"You're going to have to eventually." He reminded her. He felt awkward. That wasn't exactly a comforting thing to tell someone. He was usually pretty good at consoling people, but then again, not when he too was involved in the grieving process.

"Audrey, he loved you." He softly wiped the tears from her cheek. "Anyone could see it."

"I know. I just can't believe he's gone."

"I know."

They stood there in silence for a moment.

"You should head back to the hotel with your dad. Get some sleep. It'll help." He reached out and gently stroked her arm.

"Thanks Tony." She started to walk away and then stopped. "Stay in touch, okay?"

Tony nodded, and waited for Audrey to leave. Then he continued back to the bullpen and went to go see if he could find Michelle.

Audrey hurried down the corridor to the locker room, she'd stashed her purse in there when they'd first come to CTU. As she pushed open the door she saw Michelle slipping on a white t-shirt. She'd changed from her business suit to jeans and turned around just in time to see Audrey enter. The women smiled weakly at each other. Michelle didn't know what she could say to Audrey. True, a few hours prior she'd been in the same situation Audrey was now, thinking Tony was dead, but she had no advice to give on how to deal with it. Come to think of it, she hadn't really "dealt" with it at all. All she'd done was sat in her car crying until she found out that Tony was still alive. It had been a matter of 20 minutes where she thought her life was over. Audrey was going to have to wait a lot longer before she found out Jack was really alive, if she ever found out he was alive at all.

Audrey eyed Michelle. In truth, Michelle amazed her. Here was a woman who had literally lost everything because of this job, and still managed to do it well. Michelle was one of those people meant for this world, Audrey wasn't. They were of a different breed.

"How do you do it Michelle?" Audrey asked abruptly. Michelle turned to face Audrey and looked puzzled. Audrey continued. "You've seen god knows how many people, friends of yours, die since you started working here, you continued to work even after it ruined your life, and your husband's life. You've been kidnapped, arrested and just today you thought Tony was dead, and yet still, you managed to get through it all somehow. And now I just lost Jack, Paul, and everything good in my life and I need to know how you deal with it, because I can't deal with this anymore." The emotion was apparent in her voice.

It took Michelle a few seconds to think of how to respond to this. Then she took a deep breath and, attempting to keep her voice even said; "I just remind myself that some things are bigger than me and my life and I can't be selfish." She paused. "But the truth is Audrey, I'm sick of having to do that. I want to be able to be selfish now, to live my life. You give up a lot for this job and as much as I love it, eventually you realize it's just not worth it. Or at least it's not to me."

The tears had begun to flow down Audrey's cheeks. Michelle reached out and squeezed her arm. "You'll get through it Audrey, I promise."

Audrey nodded. "I guess I'd better go. My dad's probably waiting for me."

"Take care, Audrey."

"Thanks you too." Audrey grabbed her purse, slammed the locker shut and turned to leave. Pausing at the door she turned back.

"Oh Michelle?"

"Yeah?"

"He loves you so much, and…you probably don't need to tell you this after today but just…always remember that."

Michelle smiled. "Thanks." She replied, fighting back her own tears

Audrey then ran quickly out of the room. It hurt to think that Michelle still had Tony after all this was over. She got to experience what it was like to lose him, and then got to make up for it all afterwards. Audrey would never have that chance, with ether of the men in her life. She'd barely had the door of the car closed for her when she collapsed in the backseat and began to cry until she thought she would be sick.

Michelle finished packing up all her things in the locker room. As she did she thought of Jack. She hoped he would get to talk to Kim eventually, after all of this died down. If anyone deserved to be happy for once, it was Jack. She was finally ready to go, grabbed her purse, and walked tiredly out into the bullpen. All she wanted now was to go home with Tony. She liked to think she'd at least earned herself that, if nothing else. She saw him talking to Bill through the glass to the main conference room. They shook hands firmly and Tony turned to leave. Michelle liked Bill and respected him very much. He'd been a huge asset to them, and she doubted she would have gotten through they day without him. She'd seen the pain in his eyes when he told her to go home with Tony after they'd finished debriefing. She hoped he'd be happy; he was another person who deserved it.

Tony saw her as soon as he exited the room. Their eyes locked. Michelle felt her heart beat increase drastically. She tried to remain steady as she walked towards him. It all felt too good to be true. Her husband had died and then he'd miraculously come back to her. Yes he was still her husband, and no matter what happened he would always be her husband. She had been given a second chance…she was one of the lucky ones. Michelle fought against every fiber of her being to remain composed and professional while they were still at CTU. It wasn't the time to lose control. That would come later, when they were alone. When she could lie there, entwined in his arms and feel the best she had in over a year.

Finally Michelle reached Tony. She looked shaky, emotional, drained. Tony wanted to pick her up and carry her out of CTU but he knew that was out of the question. Michelle would be okay, they would be okay. It would just take some time.

"You ready to go?" he asked her.

She nodded wordlessly, afraid that if she spoke she'd lose her composure.

"C'mon then honey," he grabbed her hand and leaned in to kiss her forehead gently. "Let's go home." Not wanting to make her uncomfortable Tony released her hand. Michelle had never been one to walk in front of everyone broadcasting their relationship, even when they'd been married, neither had he come to think of it; and now, especially now, he didn't want to make things uncomfortable for her. He wondered how many people knew their history, as he started to walk and scanned the faces of the crowd. He felt Michelle falling behind him and slowed his pace. She looked tired, both physically and emotionally; he hoped she'd be okay.

Michelle started to walk as Tony released her hand. They'd barely begun when she felt the exhaustion of the day overcome her. When Tony slowed to let her catch up all sense of refinement was gone and Michelle reached out quickly and slipped her hand in his, leaning her head on his shoulder, silently begging him to wrap his arm around her. He complied immediately, wasting no time recovering from the shock of her action. Michelle needed him, he was there. No question about it. Michelle buried one side of her face into his chest and was barely paying attention to where she was going, and completely oblivious to the warm glances they were receiving from everyone, even those who had only met them that day. When the pair passed Chloe's station they shared a final knowing glance.

"You should go get some rest Chloe. You're done everything for today aren't you?" Michelle questioned. It was her way of making sure that Chloe had taken care of the Coroner's report.

"Yeah I'm just gonna leave now. See you guys later."

"Night, Chloe." They responded in unison. And Michelle added; "Good work today."

Chloe smiled and continued to pack up her things. Michelle would give her speech about how great everyone had been once the dust had settled and everyone had had a chance to rest, but for now there was only one thing on her mind, and it was so close she could almost taste it.

After what seemed like an eternity they reached Michelle's car. Tony instinctively opened the door for Michelle and jumped into the driver's seat. Soon enough they were on there way out of CTU.

"Um Tony…" Michelle began slowly. "Do you not have to sort things out with Jen?"

"Should I call her and tell her I'm gonna be at CTU all night and then we'll sort it out tomorrow?"

"What if she tries to call back?"  
"I'll tell her to call my cell. That way I don't have to leave you…" Tony's voice trailed off. He hoped he wasn't pushing things. Sure, they had kissed, they had said their "I love yous", but that was in the heat of the moment; Not that he hadn't meant every word or action that he'd expressed that morning, but he just wanted Michelle to have all the time she needed.

Michelle heard the uncertainty in his voice and leaned over to squeeze his hand.

"I love you." she reminded him.

"I love you too."

"I don't want to screw this up, there's no point in pretending. I can't be without you again Tony. I'll die…"  
"Me too…"

"Okay so…"

"I'll stay with you until you're sick of me." he teased gently.

Michelle gave a small giggle. "Never." She responded.

Tony brought Michelle's hand up to his mouth and kissed it gently. He couldn't remember having been this happy in a long time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **This applies to the first chapter as well (I can't believe I forgot to put it in that one…sorry). I do not own any of the characters related to 24 or, (For this chapter only), the sitcom "Friends".

_Thank you all so much for the positive reviews! I really appreciate it! I wrote the first couple of chapters before I decided to post this so I should be able to update it fairly frequently. I hope everyone enjoys this one as well and please review! Thanks a lot!_

Chapter Two

By the time they'd reached Michelle's apartment, Tony had placed his call to Jen. It hadn't exactly been pleasant but Tony was _attempting_ to make up for his lack of interest in Jen earlier that morning. He apologized to her and gently promised he'd see her the following afternoon. Jen wasn't stupid by any stretch of the imagination; and while she knew Tony would never love her, she didn't like the idea of losing him to his ex-wife; the woman who'd hurt him so badly.

"You're with Michelle aren't you?" She'd spat into the receiver.

"I told you already Jen, we're working together."

"Convenient isn't it? The one time you're going to be gone for two nights straight without telling me anything just happens to be the day you see your ex-wife after six months…"

Tony flinched. She'd hit the nail on the head.

"Jen, it's crazy here, I can't just leave in the middle of all this. I'll talk to you tomorrow. We can talk about everything then." He felt horrible lying to her so blatantly but he didn't want to do this over the phone, and certainly not when Michelle was listening in. It wasn't fair to Jen, and he'd treated her horribly enough in the past 24 hours, let alone since they'd been living together.

"Is that your way of telling me you're dumping me to go back to Michelle?"

Tony sighed loudly into the phone. Michelle was getting worried. She'd hoped Jen would save any serious conversation for when Tony went home tomorrow. _It's never felt right… thinking his home wasn't with me…_She thought to herself.

"Don't patronize me Tony."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Just tell me the truth! If you're getting back together with Michelle then there's nothing I can do about it. I get it! She's your ex-wife. I'm not going to pretend I'm happy about it but at least have the decency to tell me what's going on; I think you owe me that!"

"I'm sorry Jen."

The tears welled up in her eyes. Knowing it was coming was bad enough, hearing it was harder.

"Jen, you've been so great, I can't thank you enough for how much you've been there for me these past few months but…"

"You never stopped loving her." Jen's voice quivered. "All those times you were with me, you were wishing it was her. It was never about me…"

"That's not true!" Tony hated himself for doing this to her.

"Yes it is. It's okay. I'll survive. I always do. You can come by tomorrow to pick up your stuff. Leave your key in the mail box. I'll make sure I'm at work. Let's make this as painless as possible."

"I'm sorry Jen."

"I know. But I guess this is better than having someone keep pretending they might actually end up loving you..." There was an awkward silence.

"Good luck." Tony finished.

"You too. I hope you're happy with her Tony, I really do. Bye."

The phone clicked on Jen's end and Tony sighed loudly again. Michelle looked at him warily, unsure of what to say. Tony put away his phone and glanced at Michelle as he pulled into the parking lot.

Tony went to get out of the car when Michelle spoke.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Tony wasn't the only one who hated themselves for doing this to Jen.

"Jen's tough. She'll get by."

Michelle nodded, and stared downward, at nothing in particular. Tony reached over and lifted her chin so she was looking right at him.

"After you Michelle, no one else stood a chance. Now at least Jen can get on with her life as well."

Michelle smiled softly and blushed, turning away. "I could say the same thing about you."

Tony gave a small, ironic laugh. He thought of Bill and Jen, the day hadn't ended well for either of them, but he had Michelle again, and that was all that mattered at this point.

Spirits lifted slightly, the both headed up to the apartment. Michelle clung to Tony the whole way up. They had left CTU behind, along with their inhibitions. She buried her head into his chest and began to plant soft kisses through his t-shirt. Shivers coursed through his body and Michelle felt him jerk slightly. She laughed out loud, remembering how ticklish he was.

"You _know_ what that does to me..." he warned her.

"Alright, alright, we're here anyway." She reached grabbed the keys out of Tony's hand and unlocked the door. He followed her inside and couldn't help but grin at her apartment. It was totally Michelle, messy-organized, with expensive furniture that varied from antique-ish to modern in different rooms. The walls were a series of neutrals and soft pastels and were highlighted by accents in each room. He glanced across the living room. There were a series of throws and pillows everywhere. Michelle loved to cuddle underneath throws at night while she sipped her tea that she would make in her favourite tea set, and watch reruns of "Friends" or some other sitcom he hated. It was her way of relaxing before bed.

Michelle saw the amused look on his face and grinned.

"So Almeida, food or sleep first?"

"Your choice." He conceded, either appealed to him.

Michelle, in that moment, decided she wanted nothing more than to lie with Tony forever, knowing he was safe and that they were together, but knew that despite his nonchalant attitude he would be hungry.

"How about some soup and toast?" she asked.

"I'll make it." He began. "We've had enough disasters for one day."

Twenty minutes later the pair were sitting comfortably at Michelle's counter munching on piece after piece of toast loaded with butter and slurping down bowl after bowl of canned tomato soup. They kept the conversation light, trying not to think too much about how close they'd come to loosing everything, namely each other again, today. Tony said something that made Michelle laugh out loud, almost choking on a piece of toast. She coughed slightly and her cheeks went bright pink. He handed her a glass of water and she began to laugh even harder when she finally stopped coughing. Tony laughed too. He looked over at her and couldn't stop smiling.

Michelle noticed this and suddenly stopped laughing. She raised her eyebrows in mock offense. "What?" she questioned him.

"Nothing…Just you. I missed you – this – so much…" he leaned over and brushed a stray piece of hair from her face. She reached up and grabbed his hand, never taking her eyes away from his. Their fingers interlocked and she brought their hands back to the table.

"Sleep?" he asked her.

Michelle hesitated then unconvincingly replied. "Okay."

"What's wrong?"

"It's just…nothing…"

"Michelle?" Tony said seriously. "What is it?"

"I keep thinking…if I sleep I might dream that you're…" The tears filled her eyes. Tony reached out and stroked her face.

"I'm right here sweetheart."

"I know." She swallowed hard. "But I can't help but think of how close I came to…how you almost…"

The tears began to flow. Tony stood up and walked around the counter without letting go of her hand. He pulled Michelle into his arms and squeezed her tightly, kissing her forehead as he did so. He wrapped his arms securely around her and rested his head on top of hers. After a few minutes Tony finally spoke.

"I could sleep like this." He whispered.

"Standing up?" Michelle teased.

"I'm just that tired…"

"Well I hate to break it to you but I need a bed."

Michelle leaned up and planted a soft, lingering kiss on his lips. Then she wordlessly led him to her bedroom and left him standing alone in the center as she began to dig through her closet. A few seconds later she threw an old t-shirt and pair of sweats at him. Tony hid his surprise at this and decided he could comment on the fact that she'd kept them later. He walked into the bathroom to change, leaving Michelle to do the same in her room.

"I'm beat." She told him when he emerged.

"Me too."

Tony's eyes widened slightly when he saw what Michelle was wearing. It was his old Stanford U t-shirt, his favourite t-shirt. The first time Michelle had spent the night at his apartment he'd given her that t-shirt to sleep in, telling her it was his favourite. Michelle thought it smelt like him, and from then on would sleep in it every time she spent the night with him. When they got married she would make Tony leave it with her on any occasion where he was away from her at night for one reason or another. Michelle had told him it was the only way she could sleep without him beside her. Tony couldn't believe she'd kept it.

Michelle saw the expression on his face and blushed slightly when she realized what he'd noticed. She tugged anxiously at the ends of the shirt and smiled shyly.

"I told you it was the only way I could sleep if you weren't with me…" she began.

"I would've thought you'd be trying to forget me as fast as possible." He was confused as to why, when it was her who had wanted the divorce, she was the one clinging to the memories.

"Yeah, but I only wanted to forget the 'you' who'd pushed me away… I tried for weeks to sleep without it, but I just…couldn't. I missed the 'you' who I…" she paused, holding back the emotion. _You're supposed to be stronger than this. _She reminded herself. _No…not with Tony…_ A voice in the back of her head chimed in. _He never expected you to hold back at the end of the day, pretend you were fine. That's one of the many reasons you loved him, or that you never stopped... _

Tony couldn't help but smile at Michelle's uncertain response to his question. He said nothing else, he knew what she meant.

Michelle walked around one side of the bed and pulled back the blankets as Tony tossed the throw pillows to one side. She crawled underneath the covers and waited patiently, encouraging him with her gaze. Tony crawled in beside her. Michelle immediately snuggled up next to him and felt his arms wrap around her once again. She twisted her body so that her right leg became entwined between his. He slowly ran his foot up and down her calf pushing her pant leg up as he did so. He'd done this the first time they'd spent the day in bed together after a particularly hard all-nighter at CTU. They both had been given the following day off and when they'd woken up that morning, he couldn't believe how cold her legs, especially her feet were. Since then, it was something of a ritual, something that was uniquely theirs. Michelle smiled unintentionally as he did this without a thought. She scooted her body slightly up so that her face was at the base of his neck.

She reached up and kissed him slowly, but intensely. He reciprocated. After a few seconds he pulled back.

"God I love you." he whispered, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against hers.

The tears began to roll down her cheeks. "I missed you so much, I can't believe I ruined it, and then almost lost you."

Tony felt the wetness of her warm tears against his skin.

He only squeezed more tightly.

"We're here now. It doesn't matter anymore. It's over. I promise."

Michelle nodded into his chest. She felt so safe, so secure. She didn't know how he did it, but somehow, when she was with him, she knew everything would be okay.

"Go to sleep Michelle…" he whispered. "I've got you."

She responded by pressing her body closer to his and letting out one final, small sigh, before drifting off to sleep. Tony watched her for a few minutes before allowing himself to doze.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters related to 24.

_Wow I'm absolutely floored by all the positive reviews! You guys are great! Thanks so much! Of course I appreciate any criticism as well…I was very concerned with getting the relationship between Tony and Michelle right so I'm glad that seems to have paid off, I was also worried about my portrayal of Jen, hopefully it seemed somewhat accurate…I'm kind of nervous about these next coming chapters. There's one scene at the beach where I'm trying to describe the place they're sitting…I don't think I did a very good job so forgive me for that one… Please let me know what you think and thanks again for reading! _

Chapter Three

Tony awoke the next morning to the feeling of warm sun against his face. He didn't open his eyes, not wanting to get up. For a second he forgot where he was and his first thought was to go get a beer from the fridge. He felt a warm body pressed tightly against him, fingers linked through his and was confused as to why Jen was curled up against him like that. This wasn't Jen; Jen didn't sleep like that, of everyone he'd ever slept with only Michelle liked to nuzzle up against so closely and wouldn't move once she had. It was then that reality hit him. This was Michelle! He was with Michelle. Euphoria set in and Tony was suddenly wide awake. He quickly opened his eyes and broke into a huge grin when he saw Michelle's head on his chest. He began running his fingers through her hair gently and slipped his hand underneath her shirt and began stroking her back. He remembered the countless hours he could spend doing this; just watching Michelle sleep.

Michelle shifted slightly and Tony decided he'd leave before he woke her up. He knew if it was anything like before, she wouldn't mind in the least, but she needed to sleep as much as she could. He slipped out of bed and tiptoed across the bathroom to hop in the shower. He slipped in, letting the almost too hot water drench him from head to toe. He groaned slightly, still sore from the previous days events. A little while later a small, tentative knock at the bathroom door made him jump. It was followed by the sound of someone moving across the tiles and he saw Michelle's shadow reflected on the shower curtain. He poked his head out the side.

"Hey honey I'm almost done in here…" He didn't know what else to say. This time last year Michelle would've grinned mischievously at this, stripped down to nothing and pushed him back in the shower laughing at the shocked expression he feigned for her every time she did this. But today was a different story, today they were just getting used to each other again.

Michelle was running the same thoughts through her head, while trying to read Tony's face. She knew what she wanted to do, but he seemed unsure. She decided to go with the safer action and simply smiled and told him to take his time.

Michelle had barely retreated into the bedroom when she heard the water turn off and turned around in time to see Tony emerge in a towel followed by a hoard of steam billowing out of the bathroom. She wordlessly went to her closet and pulled out a few more of Tony's articles of clothing from the very back. She had been keeping them all in a box, out of sight but not out of mind.

"My turn." She said with a smirk and smacked the side of his arm gently. "You better not have used up all the hot water."

Once the shower had started up again and Tony had changed into sweats and a t-shirt he decided he would surprise Michelle with breakfast for when she came out. He went into the kitchen and raided her cupboards for a toaster, and a couple of frying pans. He then pulled out eggs, cheese, oil, butter, bread, and some coffee and got to work on making a Michelle's favourite omelet.

He heard the water turn off just as he was pouring the mixture into the pan. Michelle was out of the shower and had changed into a fitted pink t-shirt and some grey sweat pants, just in time to see Tony slide their omelets onto plates and place them on the counter between a stack of already buttered toast. She grinned widely. She hadn't really expected him to forget all these little things she liked or obsessed over, but there'd been this nagging feeling in the back of her head that told her he might've repressed a few of these memories when she left him, she couldn't help but feel a little relieved when she saw he was the same as always.

Michelle had already crossed the kitchen and was about to slip her arms around his waist before Tony noticed her. He spun around just in time to pull her into a full embrace and kissed her firmly on the lips. She hadn't been expecting this response and gasped slightly into his mouth before sinking into the kiss. He ran his hand through her still-wet hair and wrapped a silky, freshly conditioned curl around his finger. Her hair was curly again, soon they would be eating breakfast together like they used too; Tony felt like he really did have Michelle back.

Finally he broke their kiss.

"Breakfast is gonna get cold." He whispered, resting his forehead against hers.

"Okay." she sighed contentedly.

She sat down and began to dig into her food, savoring each bite. It felt like it'd been forever since she had one of Tony's omelets. They ate in a comfortable silence for a while, stealing an occasional glance at the other person in hopes that they would get caught by them, but not look like they were trying to get caught. A couple of times they did which caused the pair to grin stupidly and go back to their breakfast. When they'd finished Tony moved to clear their plates away. Michelle started to help him load the dishwasher.

"So what would you like to do? We've actually got all day to ourselves…" She closed the dishwasher as she said this and moved to put the eggs back in the fridge.

"Well I had an idea, if you have no objections?" Tony nudged her playfully in the side.

She pretended to consider his proposal, "What did you have in mind?"

"See now that would be the surprise."

"I hate surprises." She pouted.

"No you don't, you love them…" This caused Michelle to burst out laughing.

"Only the good kind." She defended.

"I promise this is the good kind. This is the good kind that will help you relax."

"Okay, when will this surprise be taking place then?"

"Now. Or well, in about twenty minutes if you want to dry your hair before we go. It doesn't really matter though…"

Michelle was getting excited now. She wondered what he'd come up with so suddenly. She didn't want to wait any longer.

"I'll just throw it back in a clip." She ran into the bedroom almost carelessly, trying to contain her giddiness.

She walked back with a pair of sunglasses on her head and swinging her purse from side to side hoping Tony wasn't going to make her wait any longer. As if anticipating this, Tony was already standing at the front door jingling the keys restlessly in his hand. He reached out for Michelle and she laced her fingers through his as he pulled her into the hall, closing the door behind them.

Once they had started driving Michelle flipped down her sunglasses and began to scrutinize the scenery, looking for any clue as to where they were going. She got a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach that made her suspect she'd known from the moment Tony had told her it was a surprise, but that still didn't make her any less excited.

Her instincts were proven correct. Tony pulled into the parking lot on a small, flat cliff adjacent to the beach with an awkward grin on his face. It wasn't exactly an amazing surprise; Michelle had, after all, figured it out. But when she pushed back her sunglasses he knew the look on her face couldn't have been better. He pulled into a spot on the far secluded side of the parking lot that started to wrap around the cliff. He turned off the car and looked at Michelle. Her grin spread from ear to ear. They got out of the car and he took her hand as they - very ungracefully - climbed down the cliff and stepped onto the soft sand. Michelle kicked off her shoes and socks, Tony followed suit.

Tony reached out and grabbed Michelle's hand as they walked along the beach together. It was a nice, breezy morning, not too hot yet. No one else was really around, at least not on this secluded area of the beach. Michelle knew that was part of the plan and couldn't help but smile at this. They only times they'd ever come to this beach was early in the morning or late at night, whenever they could be guaranteed the most amount of privacy. After a few more minutes of walking they found the small cove they knew so well and Tony climbed up the side of it, to a flat rock jutting out from nothing in particular. He pulled Michelle up after him and they sat there in silence, listening to the waves lap gently against the rocks, staring out over the ocean. It had always been a calm, serene escape from their hectic lives. Today was no exception. Michelle leaned her head against Tony's shoulder, and he in turn rested his head on top of hers, drawing her in closely.

It was Tony who finally broke the silence.

"Um…Michelle…do we need to um…talk?"

Michelle lifted her head off his shoulder and turned to look at him. "What about?" She questioned, although she knew the answer.

"Well last time we were together, it didn't exactly end well…"

"You're not kidding…" Michelle said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Do you not think that might take some resolution before we can make this work?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure we both know how to fix our part of the problem…"

"Michelle…" he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. Then he spoke gently "I'm so sorry…for everything, for pushing you away, for drinking, for…whatever I did that made you leave me."

"I know you are, and I know you know what you have to do now…but Tony, you weren't the only reason I left."

The surprise showed on Tony's face, so she continued.

"I left because of me…because I felt like it was my fault."

"Michelle you didn't do anything wrong!" he almost yelled incredulously.

"You committed treason, got sent to prison, went through hell, got pardoned but had lost everything, started drinking…the thing is everything that caused you all those problems was my fault. I watched you change when you came home from prison to someone I couldn't even recognize you and I felt like that was my fault…like it was my fault you'd lost everything, and even though you swore to me that you didn't regret doing what you did, I felt guilty for making you suffer so much on my account…that's the only reason you started drinking in the first place! I couldn't get past the fact that if you'd just…" Michelle let out a small sob. "I'm sorry…I…" Tony pressed a finger to her lips to silence her.

"Listen to me Michelle." He said seriously. "You did nothing wrong. Yes I lost my job, 6 months of freedom, a little bit of self-respect, but _nothing _I went through justified what I did to you. Y'hear me? Nothing." He wiped a tear from her cheek. "I kept thinking about everything I'd lost, not what I still had, and that was all I needed, or it should've been…I lost sight of that…but never in the past year have I ever for one second regretted the decision I made…I swear…"

Michelle found her voice again. "And now after all that I didn't even do the same thing for you…"

Tony silenced her this time by kissing her hard on the lips. "I told you already, it's over. You made the right choice…"

Michelle nodded through the tears. "Okay."

She leaned in and kissed him with all the strength she could muster, as if testing to see if he was real. Satisfied she began to relax and let Tony push her back against the rock where they continued their kiss. His lips wandered and he soon found the crook of her neck and began to plant light feathery kisses all over the spot. He then moved his lips to her ear and began to blow air into it. This action caused Michelle to shriek loudly and sit upright once again. She began to laugh. That had always been her ticklish spot. Tony moved to sit beside her and advanced on her ear again. She jumped up but there was no where to go. Tony grabbed her side and tickled her until she was lying down. Then, pinning her hands over her head against the rock with one arm, Tony used his free hand to tickle her until she was laughing so hard she could barely breathe.

"Tony!" She squealed through the laughter. "Stop! Please! You're…" she began laughing again. This caused Tony to laugh and after one final tickle to her side, he released her arms and lay down beside her.

"You know honey," he began teasingly. "You're really not as tough as you look. You'd be easy enough to torture if a person just knew your weakness…"

"You're just as bad as me." Michelle teased as she rolled over onto her side so they were facing each other. Tony kissed the tip of her nose lightly, then her cheeks, her forehead and finally her lips. He went to pull away to tease her some more but Michelle it seemed, was done playing games. She reached up and grabbed the front of his t-shirt pulling him back towards her. She kissed him again, laying down once more, pulling him with her. Tony parted her lips with his tongue and Michelle received it, savoring the moment. She moaned softly into his mouth, unaware she'd done so. Tony rang his fingers up the side of her t-shirt feeling her cool skin against his warm hands. He broke the kiss and made his was down to her collarbone sucking, licking, kissing, which caused Michelle to moan a little more loudly this time. After a few more minutes of this Tony sat up and pulled Michelle with him.

"We'd better go; everyone's starting to show up now."

Michelle glanced down the other end of the beach and saw he was right. The kissed softly one final time and then made their way back down to the beach. No longer sheltered from view of everyone, they settled for walking back to the car with their arms each other. Anything else would have to wait. Tony unlocked the car as Michelle grabbed the shoes they'd left beside it. Soon they were back at Michelle's apartment, completely content in the fact that the other person was there with them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters related to 24.

_Thanks so much again for all the reviews! I hope you all like this chapter…I'd definitely say it's a little more intense then the last couple. Jen reappears and it's not pretty…I hope the characters still seem believable…There's some flashback type things in this chapter as well so let me know if you like those…any feedback is appreciated. Thanks!_

Chapter Four

Michelle sat down on the corner of the couch, unable to mask the feeling of tiredness that had overcome her once again. A thought crossed her mind that made her laugh out loud. Tony, who had been lingering in the hallway, dumping the sand out of their shoes walked into the living room.

"What's so funny?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I want to go to bed." Michelle giggled.

"You just woke up like 3 hours ago!"

"I know, I thought of that. I think maybe the reason is so that I can just fall asleep with you again. My mind's playing tricks on me…making me think I'm tired still…"

Tony laughed. "You're nuts…but I've gotta stop by Jen's in a few hours…while she's at work…so we just don't have time to sleep now…"

Michelle nodded in agreement. "I know, I know. There'll be time for that later I guess."

"Okay I'm completely covered in sand so I'm just gonna hop in the shower before lunch."

Michelle immediately jumped up off the couch. "I'm covered in sand too y'know…"

Tony frowned slightly, unsure what Michelle had in mind this time. _This was so much easier when I knew exactly what she was thinking…_

"Well then we have a problem…two people…one shower."

Michelle grinned. "That never used to be a problem…"

Tony cocked his head sideways and scratched the side of his face.

"That one's your call…"

Michelle took a deep breath, hoping to drink in some common sense as well as oxygen. _Pace yourself…it's still only been a couple of hours…_

"Maybe we should save it…" she ventured.

Tony looked disappointed, but did his best to hide it. He knew where she was coming from…and it made the most sense. He settled for giving her a small, awkward smile and turning to go towards the shower. Michelle heard the door down the hall close and let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding.

_Who are you kidding here? What's the point in doing this to yourself? You almost lost him…Tony...Quit playing games. _

Michelle felt the adrenaline course through her body almost instantly and ran down the hall, she pushed open the bathroom door without knocking (thankfully he hadn't locked it) and entered just in time to see Tony pull off his t-shirt. He turned to face Michelle looking more than slightly stunned. He went to ask her what had happened but Michelle didn't give him the chance. She pushed him hard against the tiled wall and began to kiss him feverously, running her hands all over his naked chest. Tony wasted no time acting surprised and immediately took control of the situation, twisting their bodies so that Michelle was now against the wall moaning continuously into his mouth. Michelle took Tony's hands and moved them to the waist of her pants, getting him started on removing them. They broke the kiss only for a heartbeat, just enough time to pull Michelle's t-shirt over her head. Michelle used a foot to tug at Tony's pants causing them to slowly slide down his hips. Tony felt for the nozzle and turned on the shower. In the time it took them to strip recklessly out of their underwear the water was hot. Michelle stepped inside first, with Tony practically on top of her. The water pressure and the steam heightened each sensation and they knew that nothing could make them stop now. Michelle felt Tony pressed against her and decided she didn't want to wait any longer. She positioned herself against the wall and slowly guided him into position. They kissed deeply and slowly and made love, not had sex, but actually made love for the first time in a year. When it was finally over Tony turned off the shower and carried Michelle to the bed, grabbing a towel as he did so. He fell on top of her, drained, and realized he couldn't stop smiling.

"I missed you so much." Michelle said seriously.

"I know how you feel." Tony kissed her lightly on the collarbone and they lay there, absorbing everything they could from the moment, not wanting to move.

Michelle snuggled up against Tony. "Okay, now I'm not so tired anymore."

Tony chuckled. "Good 'cause I hate to break it to you but I'm gonna have to go to Jen's soon.

"Can I come?"

"Do you want to?"

"I just don't want to leave you." she pleaded in a small voice.

"Okay."

By the time they had both dressed, it was almost 12:30. They decided on heading out for lunch on the way to Jen's, allocating the necessary time for her to get to work. Tony knew she had to be out of there by 1, 2 latest, or her boss would give her hell.

Tony and Michelle stopped at a small café for lunch, one that Michelle had been to many times as it was just around the corner from her apartment. She suddenly felt a little awkward as they walked inside, hand in hand. When Michelle had first come back to L.A. Bill had taken her there, in hopes of starting some sort of relationship. Nothing had happened of course, but it still felt strange. Her two lives were being forged into one all of a sudden; her new life where she was independent and career driven and emotionless, and her old life with Tony. She had to laugh at the irony, her life before Tony had been a lot like her new life, the only thing that seemed to change that was the man standing beside her right now. She couldn't put her finger on what it was…

They sat at a quiet table in the corner and Michelle felt no need to peruse the menu. She always ordered the same thing – Chicken Parmesan. Tony quickly settled on a pasta dish of some sort and they placed their orders with the waitress, a young woman who seemed to be eyeing them curiously.

"I can't believe what just happened…" Michelle spat out unintentionally.

Tony had to laugh at her bluntness. "I know, it's been so long…"

Michelle grew very quiet suddenly. _It hasn't been long at all for Tony, he was living with someone remember?_

Tony, somehow, knew exactly what she was thinking, or at least, it seemed that way.

"Michelle, it was never the same with anyone else…"

"I guess it's just hard to take in."

"Well, what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Were you um…_with_ anyone after we got…y'know."

"No." she stated flatly.

Tony felt an insane mixture of relief and shock overcome him. He knew Michelle was entitled to some sort of relationship, if anything more so than he was…and he knew that she'd probably had many opportunities to move on in one way or another…In all honesty he hadn't expected that as an answer, but he couldn't have been more grateful.

Michelle took the silence to mean Tony was processing this. She knew it would seem odd. It'd been over six months, she'd been in Seattle while he was in prison, she wasn't exactly short on options. She'd dated a little, the odd set-up here or there from a friend every few weeks who was urging her to forget Tony. And then of course there was Bill…who stood as good a chance as anyone…But that in fact, was the problem. No one ever stood a chance. They weren't Tony. It was as simple as that. She knew she'd never move on, no matter how hopeless their relationship (or lack thereof) was, she couldn't imagine anyone else.

"Was it…only Jen?" Michelle treaded carefully, expecting the worse and hoping she wouldn't be upset by his response. For all she knew there had been many women after her.

"There was one other…" Tony winced. He hoped Michelle wouldn't take it personally; it had only been him missing her; that was all.

"Who?" she asked quietly.

"Does it really matter?" he reached across the table for her hand. Michelle didn't respond, but she didn't pull away either.

"No." she said barely audibly. Then the corners of her lips twitched. "That is, as long as it wasn't like…Carrie."

Tony laughed. "I can honestly tell you it wasn't Carrie."

Michelle smiled. "I'm sorry I brought it up. It shouldn't matter."

Tony smiled back. "When you left…I couldn't handle it…I guess I just needed something...And this person before Jen, it only happened once…"

"Okay. Can we just forget all of this now, everything that happened before? It's in the past."

"So we're forgetting the past now are we?"

"I guess so…"

"Well see I have a bit of a problem with that."

Michelle's mouth dropped slightly. "Wh…why?"

"Because Michelle…" he began seriously, "As horrible as the last year has been, everything before that was pretty much as close to perfect as you could expect…"

Michelle blushed and smiled and squeezed his hand a little more tightly.

They were silent for a few seconds. Michelle finally spoke.

"Do you remember the first time you said 'I love you'?"

It was Tony's turn to blush. Of course he remembered, it had been one of the memories that had got him through prison, he'd clung to it like nothing else. He nodded. And they both said nothing. Their minds had drifted back to that particular day:

_They'd barely been going out for a month, but Tony had felt like he wanted to speak those three little words to Michelle the millisecond their first date ended. He knew that was a little premature though, considering he barely knew her. He resided to convincing himself that he simply loved what he knew about her. This ensured he didn't scare her off too soon, or scare himself for that matter. Tony didn't usually admit he was in love with someone…at least not without careful deliberation but with Michelle it felt so…natural. Like he was thinking the words every minute he was with her, like they just slipped out and started bouncing around inside his head the instant he saw her and it was a constant battle to keep them there…But, after Nina, having any woman in that much control of his emotions was scary, he trusted Michelle of course, but it hadn't been that long and Nina's betrayal was still fresh in his mind._

_And then one drizzly night it had happened. Completely unintentionally, like Tony was afraid it would since he kept thinking these words. He'd slipped up. They both had had an extremely difficult day at work. There was really no saying who'd had it worse. They'd yelled at each other a couple of times, lost their temper over the stupidest things, and at the end of the day still managed to mumble out some small apology to each other (more out of exhaustion than lack of meaning) and head back to Michelle's apartment. _

_Once inside Michelle had, of course, made tea and settled herself on the couch. They'd decided to watch a movie before bed, nothing else really appealed to them at that point. Michelle had finally placed her empty mug on the coffee table and pulled a blanket around herself and Tony, snuggling up against him and kissing the side of his neck. Tony hadn't said anything at this. He'd simply watched her. The movie continued and neither of them made another sound until the end credits came onto the screen. Michelle had closed her eyes and pressed herself even closer to Tony sighing loudly. Tony had looked down at her smiling and for some reason when the words entered his brain this time he couldn't help but say it out loud. So he'd buried his face in Michelle's hair and just loud enough so that she could hear him; _

_"I love you." _

_He felt Michelle tense against him and suddenly realized what he'd done. He felt sick now. He'd screwed it up, for both of them. Michelle had opened her eyes and turned to stare at him. She looked nervous, uncomfortable. _

_"What?" she managed._

_Tony thought about it. Did he really mean it? Did he really love her now? Was he sure? He looked at Michelle again and couldn't help but smile. Of course he meant it. It was Michelle. He sat up slightly, and closed his eyes as he kissed her tenderly on the forehead. _

_"I love you." he repeated. _

_Michelle gasped slightly and then prayed he hadn't noticed. She paused for a second, looking uncertain, but only for a second. Deep down she knew what she wanted to say, even if she was scared to repeat the words out loud. _

_"I love you too." She said breathlessly. _

_Tony eyed her. She had hesitated but somehow, he knew she still meant it. He leaned in and caught her lips with his. She smiled into the kiss and the tension of the moment seemed to ease instantaneously. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. She had meant it…more than ever. _

They both snapped back to reality. Michelle looked up and saw Tony was starring at her with a stupid grin on his face. He stroked her hand with his thumb.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Just then the waitress reappeared with their food, fully aware that she was interrupting something, but not really caring. Tony dropped Michelle's hand and they both ate without another word to each other. As they left the restaurant Tony slipped his arm around Michelle's waist and pulled her in as closely as he dared, without hindering their ability to walk. Michelle smiled contently. They were making up for all the lost time.

They arrived at Jen's a little before 2. Her car was gone. Tony sighed with relief. Jen meeting Michelle today was not what he was ready for. Tony pulled out his key and unlocked the front door. The house was silent. _It's funny how you can live somewhere for months and it still never feels like home…_he mused. Michelle left his side and walked around the living room silently, wondering what to say.

"I'm just gonna go pack everything up." He told her.

Michelle nodded. "Need help?"

"Well I'm just gonna go get my clothes and stuff out of the…" he stopped, not wanting to finish his sentence. Michelle knew what he meant though; you'd have to be a complete idiot not to.

"Do you want me to start grabbing your things out here or…?"

"If you want, there really isn't much besides my clothes. Just have a look around the room; you'll know what's mine…"

"Alright."

Tony walked down the hallway to the bedroom and Michelle began to wander through the den, searching for anything that might be his. She started by scanning the collection of DVDs and found a few movies that could only be Tony's; they were his favourites. She left them on the coffee table and continued her search. There were hardly any books in the bookshelf, majority of it seemed to be magazines, but something caught her gaze. There was a tiny bit of gold shining from behind the shelf. Michelle knelt down and pulled out an old picture frame. It was coated in dust. She turned it over and gasped. It was a picture of her and Tony. An old picture, from before they got married. It was from when they spent the weekend in Santa Barbara, the first trip they'd taken together, on their first weekend off from work since the nuke disaster. Tony had on sunglasses and a ratty old t-shirt over his bathing suit. Michelle was sporting a light blue Ralph Lauren bikini. It'd cost her a fortune but she'd bought it just for that weekend. Wrapped around her waist was a matching sarong. The picture, Michelle remembered, had been taken at the worst possible second. The girl who took it had been kind of ditzy and apparently had no idea of the concept of "cheese". The wind had been blowing ferociously and Michelle was trying in vain to push her hair back from her face. She'd lost her footing and fallen onto Tony, the both of them laughing hysterically. Tony had turned to pull her in close and buried his face in her curls; his hundred-watt smile visibly peaking out from the side. Michelle was grinning from ear to ear. Tony had just whispered that she was adorable. It was at this second that the girl had taken the picture. Michelle smiled now.

"You hated that picture." Tony said as he emerged from the bedroom. Michelle jumped.

"I remember; I thought I looked like an idiot with this stupid smile on my face. I couldn't believe she took the picture then!"

"You wanted to tear it up…"

"And you wouldn't hear of it. You loved it. I told you to keep it but promise to never show it to me again…" Michelle paused seeing the heartfelt emotion on Tony's face. She could hear it in her own voice as she tried to keep the mood light. "It's not really that bad…now that I think about it."

"It's perfect."

Tony waited a few seconds then spoke. "I just need to grab a couple of bags…" he explained motioning towards the cupboard.

"Is there anything else in here I should be getting?"

Tony scanned the room. "Not really. She can keep the computer I guess. Maybe dig out some of the software though, she won't need most of it, I can load it when I get a new one. It should be just in that cupboard there. Then if you just want to find my mug in the kitchen."

Michelle laughed. "I think we need to get you a new mug."

"Never!" He said in mock horror.

Tony exited the room and Michelle began to fish out the computer software. She was just about to place it on the coffee table when she heard keys turn in the door. Michelle froze; silently praying Tony would walk into the room in time…too late…the front door was opening.

"Hey Tony?" Jen called without really looking around. "You in here?" she turned towards the living room and, just like Michelle, froze.

Michelle took control of the situation, hoping they could at least get past the awkwardness.

"Hi." She said formally. "You must be Jen." She crossed the room quickly extending a hand. "I'm…"

"I know." Jen snapped, scrutinizing Michelle as she did so. _Damn it, she's not even ugly. _This made Jen hate her even more.

Michelle bit her lower lip. This couldn't be going worse.

Jen eyed Michelle wearily. "Tony didn't mention he was bringing you." You could almost taste the bitterness in her voice.

Michelle wanted to retaliate, but remembered that Jen had every reason to hate her right now, after all, if the situation was reversed, she'd be pretty pissed off too.

"I offered to help." She said simply.

_Where the hell is Tony? Did he not hear Jen come in? _

"I'm sorry; we just wanted to get everything done while you were out…like you asked…"

"So you were with him when he was on the phone to me?" Jen's eyes flashed.

There was no point in denying it; "Yeah, we were um…getting ready to – "

" – Well." Jen cut her off. "I guess you're a lot harder to get over than I am."

"I'm sorry Jen."

"Don't feel sorry for me Michelle." Jen swallowed hard, she would not cry in front of this woman, she would not give her the satisfaction of seeing how much this was hurting her.

It was then that they heard Tony walking down the hall.

"Michelle you almost ready to…" his eyes met Jen's and Michelle spun around.

"Jen." He said quietly. "I didn't hear you come in."

"As usual, you were probably thinking about some_thing_ else." She said vindictively.

"I thought you had work?" he ignored her last comment.

"I forgot my coat. I'll be out of your way in a minute."

Tony didn't know what to do. Jen was upset, anyone could see that. He felt like he should comfort her, somehow, but then he remembered Michelle. He wondered what she would say if he did. Their eyes locked as Jen pushed past him. He knew what to do.

Jen made it to the bedroom in the nick of time, the tears came without warning. Seeing Tony had only made it harder, now it wasn't about being bitter, it was about realizing what she was going to lose to the woman in the next room, who didn't even really deserve him.

_She doesn't deserve a second chance after what she did to him. _Jen told herself through the tears.

She jumped when she heard the door close behind her. It was Tony. The expression on his face made her feel a thousand times worse.

"Don't look at me like that." She said quietly.

"I'm sorry Jen but it's …"

"It's Michelle." They both said in unison, Tony with nothing but adoration in his voice, Jen with nothing but hostility.

"She left you Tony!" Jen screamed. "How can you do this to yourself? It was so easy for her to pick up and leave you before. How can you even think about giving her another chance? Just so she can hurt you like that again?"

"Jen it's – "

"You spend a couple of days with her and suddenly it's like nothing happened. Like she didn't walk out on you when things got tough, like she didn't abandon you after you saved her life! You saved her life Tony! Look how she repaid you! I just…" Jen collapsed on the bed and put her head in her hands. Tony heard a muffled sob and slowly walked over to her, realizing this was probably the most caring he'd been towards Jen in the whole time they were together.

"C'mon Jen." He said as he knelt down. "It's gonna be okay. I never treated you properly, I ignored you, I never did one nice thing for you…I didn't even remember your birthday…"

Jen sniffled and looked up. Their faces were inches apart and for once, Jen looked Tony in the eye, _really_ looked him in the eye and in a split second she understood. _This is what she does to him. He's bitter, angry, depressed for months and after two days with her he's a completely different person._

She didn't want to lose him now though, not when he was finally making an effort, starting to care. The thought of this made her cry even harder. Tony grabbed her forearm and pulled him towards her, wrapping her in his warm embrace.

"You deserve so much better." He whispered.

"I don't want better, I want you." she cried.

Tony pulled back and wiped her eyes gently.

"Why are you like this all of a sudden?"

"I don't know." She felt sick; she was just another stupid loser crying over a guy. She didn't know why he suddenly mattered so much to her…

"Jen, listen to me." Tony said firmly. "You're amazing, and I'll never be able to thank you enough for what you did for me, but you really do deserve better, and not just a few minutes of me not being a complete asshole, but someone who would do anything for you. I'm just not right…"

She swallowed. "This is pathetic." Her voice went cold and harsh as she saw the situation as an outsider again. She pushed Tony away from her and, after grabbing her jacket, stormed out of the room. As she opened the door she turned back and said with nothing but pure hate in her voice:

"You could do so much better than her."

And with that Jen walked into the living room and with one final, detestable glance at Michelle tore out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

Tony heard the front door close and walked, defeated, back into the living room. Michelle looked up, her face had gone pale.

"Did you…" Tony began.

"Thin walls," she explained.

"I wouldn't have let you come if I'd…"

"I know."

"Michelle, don't listen to her, we both know that's not what happened."

Michelle nodded but still looked uneasy.

"Come here." He crossed the room. Michelle allowed Tony to draw her in tightly and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Are _you_ okay?" she asked him quietly.

He smothered his face with her curls and smiled. "Never better."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters related to 24.

_Sorry about the long wait this time. I started working last week and it's been kind of hectic…I'm relieved the part with Jen seemed to go over well. I honestly couldn't stand her in the show but I figured that if I was in her position I wouldn't be too thrilled with the prospect of the guy I was living with going back to his ex-wife…even if it was Tony and Michelle:P. I hope you all enjoy the next chapter. This is definitely pure fluff…if you didn't consider the last chapter such. Let me know what you think. _

Chapter Five

After another half hour they'd completely packed up Tony's life for the past 6 months. Michelle grabbed a bag as Tony did a final scan of the house, not wanting to miss anything and have to put Jen through another encounter like they'd just experienced. Satisfied that he seemed to have everything, Tony grabbed the rest of the bags and followed Michelle out the front door. He paused before he closed it behind him, suddenly feeling a little strange about leaving. Sure his life had been worse than hell while he'd lived here, but it had still been his life. He let out a deep breath and then, with a reassuring glance from Michelle, closed the door behind him. Life, as he knew it at least, was over.

They drove back in silence to Michelle's apartment. Tony not really wanting to say anything, Michelle not sure what exactly to say…she wondered if Tony was regretting the decision they made, wondered if maybe he'd wished he'd taken the job at CTU. After all, that's what had brought him back to life, that's what he loved above anything else. She knew it was his idea, but it had been so…spur of the moment. She wondered if he'd really thought this all through.

They finally made it to the apartment, still without any exchange of words between them. Neither of them could believe that a few hours earlier they were still reeling from their encounter in the shower.

Michelle dropped her keys on the hall table and went to go sit on the couch. Tony tossed his bags at the front hall; he'd worry about what to do with them later. They were both still exhausted from the previous day, no amount of sleep seemed to help them feel rested; it had just been too draining.

"Tony?" Michelle squeaked quietly as he came to sit on the couch beside her.

"Yeah?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He said almost coldly.

Michelle suddenly had a horrible case of déjà vu. "Not this again." There was a distinct edge to her voice.

Tony turned to face her and saw the hurt in her eyes; he realized what he'd just said.

"I'm sorry, but it really is nothing. It just felt weird leaving for some reason, I don't know why. I guess in a lot of ways I felt like I was in some horrible dream for the past few months and now… I can't believe it's actually over."

Michelle scouted over to the couch beside him. "Maybe it was some horrible dream, and now we're just waking up…"

Tony looked up from the couch and gave her a crooked half smile. Michelle smiled back. Tony leaned over and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

"Thanks."

She sighed, relieved. "It's what I'm here for."

"So what do you want to do tonight?"

"We have work tomorrow." Michelle reminded.

"Alright, how bout we order pizza and rent a movie."

"Perfect."

"What time is it now?" Michelle leaned over to check the clock.

"Like, 3:30."

Michelle leaned forward and grabbed the remote, flicking on the T.V. and settled back on the couch against Tony, who wrapped one arm across her stomach. She began flicking channels when she found CNN. Her stomach dropped. They were talking about the events from yesterday, of course they would be, L.A. almost got bombed after all! She wanted to turn the channel but found that she couldn't. This had always happened to her, she wanted to know what the people got to see, if they realized how close they'd come to loosing everything.

Her phone rang.

"I got it." Tony scooted out from underneath her and picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Tony?" the voice on the other end seemed to be trying to conceal its surprise.

"Hey Bill, how's it going over there?"

"Not bad, just trying to get all these damage reports forwarded to district." _Well that was fast._ Bill thought to himself. He wondered if Tony had been with Michelle since yesterday, or had just stopped by to visit her that morning.

"Yeah, we'll be back in tomorrow to help with everything."

"Great, but that's actually not why I called… I was hoping to talk to Michelle."

"Oh, right. She's right here."

"Thanks."

Tony placed his hand over the receiver and turned to Michelle. "For you..."

Michelle slid down the couch and reached for the phone. Tony sat down beside her.

"Hey Bill, do you need me to come in now or…?" Michelle silently prayed that wasn't the case.

"No, no. I just," Bill paused. He suddenly felt very embarrassed. "I just wanted to see if you were okay." he finished quietly.

"Well I appreciate it. Thank you."

"I realize how hard yesterday must've been for you, I know you knew Jack well, and I can't imagine what it must've been like to see him that way."

Michelle's eyes watered slightly. "I just…can't believe it." She didn't know what else to say to sound convincing.

"I know. It's good that Tony's with you."

"It's helped." She finished simply.

"I just wanted to thank you again for what a great job you did yesterday."

"Thanks."

"And I just wanted to say that…I'm really glad you're happy again Michelle. I never really knew you when you were happy..." he finished lamely cursing himself silently for not being able to come up with something more meaningful.

"Thanks Bill." He could hear the smile in her voice.

"You enjoy the rest of your night. I'll see you both tomorrow."

"We will, bye."

The phone clicked. Michelle sighed. She didn't really know what she expected from Bill, but the fact that he was so understanding made it even harder. Tony reached over and squeezed the inside of her leg. Michelle slid across the couch and curled up into a tiny ball against his side, burying her face into his chest. She knew it was supposed to be like this.

Tony and Michelle stayed like this for a while. Sometimes they would be talking, sometimes they would just be sitting there, absorbed in the other person but for some reason the time just seemed to fly by, and soon enough they were ready for dinner. Tony's stomach grumbled and Michelle giggled.

"Maybe we should order that pizza now, we can go rent a movie and pick it up on the way back."

"Hand me the phone." Michelle passed it to Tony and dug out the phonebook from the side table. He dialed the number and while he was waiting for someone to pick up he turned to Michelle and asked, "The usual?"

Michelle nodded, and then slipped off the couch to go freshen up slightly. She walked into the bedroom and laughed at her hair. It was an absolute disaster. She grabbed a comb and worked endlessly to brush out all the tangles. Finally, she gave up and threw it back in a lose ponytail at the base of her neck. She stared thoughtfully for a second, then tugged at a few ringlets causing them to fall around her face. Satisfied with her hair, and not in the mood for putting on any makeup she went back to the living room, where Tony was just getting off the phone and grabbing the keys.

They decided to walk. It was a nice breezy California night. They were in and out of video store in record time. Normally they would debate for hours over what kind of movie to get but Tony insisted it didn't matter, he told Michelle to pick one that would help her relax. She eyed him curiously then, surprising herself more than anyone else, pulled "The Notebook" off the shelf.

She shrugged. "I feel like sap."

Tony laughed.

They exited the store and started to walk down the street to grab their pizza when, out of nowhere, it started to pour. Michelle squealed with a mixture of annoyance and delight. The rain felt nice, it was warm and prickled her skin gently. She attempted to walk as closely as she could to the side of a building, hoping to avoid as much rain as possible. Then, realizing any attempt was futile continued walking in the middle of the sidewalk, throwing her head back and letting the fat drops plaster her face.

The novelty eventually wore off and Michelle started to shiver. Tony eyed her warily.

"I'm fine." She insisted reading his look. "It's not far now."

They made it to the pizza place and Michelle began to shake even more as the cold air hit her. _Everything in L.A. is air conditioned. _She groaned.

She waited at the back while Tony went to get their pizza. They were at least a 15 minute walk from home now, and had no idea how she was going to make it back there without dying from pneumonia first. She closed her eyes and leaned against the wall, vigorously rubbing her arms, hoping it might warm her up. She felt more than heard Tony approach.

"What if we eat in here?"

"It's cold though."

"It's gonna be even worse if we go out in the rain again, plus the food will get soaked."

"Fine." She surrendered.

It didn't take them long to devour the whole pizza. Tony's appetite was nothing out of the ordinary but Michelle found that after a day at work like they'd had yesterday, she was always starving for the next little while. She never knew why, but it was part of her routine. After about half-an-hour they tossed the remnants of their dinner into the garbage. Michelle now knew for sure she was going to die of pneumonia. _What's with all the rain these days? _

They stepped outside and it was still pouring. Tony debated getting a cab but knew they'd be out of luck. L.A. was like New York in that sense; you could never get a cab when it was raining. _Plus_, he thought with a chuckle. I_t's probably safer to walk...this is L.A. after all. _

"Michelle you're shivering."

"It's just a little cold out. I'll be fine." Her teeth chattered.

Tony fought to hide his amusement.

"C'mon," he said pulling her in tightly, silently reprimanding himself for not having enough common sense to bring a coat.

The instant his warm skin touched her arms Michelle felt a hundred times better. He was so warm she was surprised she didn't see steam rising off him. They continued to walk, entwined in each other the whole way back to the apartment. As soon as they stepped inside Tony went to the bathroom and found the biggest, fluffiest towel he could. He came back to the hall where Michelle had been idling, and snuck up on her from behind, wrapping it around her tightly. He drew her in and then slowly, methodically, rubbed her arms, hoping to warm them up. Michelle leaned back against him; she didn't want to go change into dry clothes. She wanted to stay like this all day.

After a little while Tony wordlessly grabbed her hand and led her into the bedroom. He dug through the box of his he'd seen her pawing in earlier and pulled out a big oversized sweatshirt. Michelle grabbed her flannel pajama pants and turned to face Tony. As he approached she raised her arms over her head letting him pull her t-shirt up. Then he pushed her back gently onto the bed and peeled off her wet jeans. Michelle lay there in a haze, watching him do all the work. Once she was dressed Tony stripped himself down and threw on something he could sleep in.

"Movie time!' Michelle exclaimed jumping up from the bed.

"Not yet, you still haven't made your tea."

Michelle beamed.

"I'll make it for you honey." He told her and gently pressed his lips against her temple.

She didn't think it was possible for her to smile any wider…but somehow she managed it.

Soon they were sitting curled up on the couch, Michelle with her special tea in her special cup, getting ready to play the movie. Michelle couldn't believe how emotional she got. She was _not_ the type of person who bawled her eyes out at movies, but for some reason she couldn't help herself. The tears fell silently down her face and Tony reached over and handed her a box of Kleenex. She thanked him by snuggling into him even more. By the time the movie had ended both were ready for bed. Michelle stared at herself in the mirror, she was puffy eyed and blotchy.

"I'm a mess." She complained. It was one of the reasons she avoided crying at something so trivial. She looked like hell afterwards and just didn't seem justified to her to let a movie do that to you.

She saw Tony in the mirror watching her from behind. He walked up and kissed her on the cheek.

"You're perfect."

She gave him a skeptical look that still didn't manage to contain her delight at this comment. "Alright then, time for bed."

They settled down under the covers and, alarms set, wasted no time falling asleep.

A few hours later Tony awoke suddenly. Again he had forgotten what he was waking up to, but he had less time to absorb his surroundings now. Michelle was shaking violently, tears streaming down her face. She was mumbling something totally incoherent. She was having a nightmare. He held her down against the mattress by her arms and called her name.  
"Michelle. Michelle wake up. Michelle!" Suddenly, she stopped shaking, stopped mumbling, her eyes whipped open but she still had tears streaming down her face. She stared blankly at him for a few seconds. He bent down and kissed her forehead.

"It's okay sweetheart it was just a dream."

Something seemed to snap inside of her and she bolted upright and threw her arms around his neck, crying once again.

"I thought you were…"

Tony pulled her in as tightly as he could muster and gently stroked her hair and face, kissing the side of her head every so often.

"I'm here honey its okay."

"I'm sorry." She said pulling back.

"It's gonna be alright, I promise."

He wiped her eyes and tucked a loose curl behind her ear. Her breathing slowed and she had stopped feeling like she was going to be violently ill.

"I love you." she whimpered, pulling him in tightly towards her.

He responded by nuzzling her forehead. "I love you too. Go back to sleep."

He squeezed her tightly and fell back into the pillows, taking her with him. He pulled the covers over them and felt her conform to his body, trying to make contact in as many places as possible at once. He slowly ran his fingers from her shoulder blades all down the back of her thighs. He remembered to wrap her legs in between his and eventually felt her kiss him once more, almost unnoticeably on his neck, before dozing off to sleep. He lay awake the rest of the night, in case Michelle had another horrible dream. He wanted to be able to wake her the second he felt her begin to stir. He always did this, especially after a day like the one they'd had yesterday. He wanted nothing more than for her to feel safe. Before he knew it, the rain had dispersed and the first rays of sun were starting to peak over the horizon. It was morning.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters related to 24.

_Hey guys. Not sure how many of you are still reading this…it's been a while I know…I was worried the story might be getting a little too fluffy so I wrote a chapter that I hope is more dramatic or tense or whatever you want to call it. I'm debating whether or not just ending the whole thing here. Let me know what you guys think and as usual any reviews are greatly appreciated!_

Chapter Six

When the alarm clock buzzed the next morning Tony reached over and turned it off. Michelle opened her eyes slowly and saw that Tony was wide awake, arms still squeezing her as tightly as ever.

"You didn't sleep, did you?"

Tony shrugged.

"You shouldn't have done that, it was just a dream."

"I can't help it."

She slid up his body and kissed him, lingering on his lips, before propping herself up.

"Work." She complained.

"I'll put on the coffee."

"I'll jump in the shower first then."

"Deal." They pecked once more and moved in opposite directions.

When Michelle emerged, dressed in full work attire, from the shower 20 minutes later she smelt coffee brewing and almost sprinted into the kitchen. Tony heard her and pulled down a mug and started to pour just as she ran into the room.

"Alright, my turn." He left and went to go get showered himself. By the time he had dressed Michelle had already done her makeup, her hair. They hung around the kitchen, both nursing their second cup of coffee, until Michelle glanced at her watch and told him that they'd better hurry if they wanted to get to work on time.

Arriving at CTU was definitely unusual. People who hadn't been at work two days before, (and knew better), showed their confusion as Tony and Michelle walked down the hall together. Tony released Michelle's hand as they saw Bill approaching them, followed closely by Brad Hammond. Tony felt sick. He hadn't seen Brad since he'd been arrested by him. He silently prayed with every fiber of his being that Bill had already explained the circumstances.

"Tony Almeida." Brad stated more harshly than necessary. He did not reach out to shake Tony's hand but merely starred him down.

"Brad." Tony acknowledged him with a curt nod.

The tension could've been cut with a knife.

"So," Michelle jumped in. "Where are we on the status reports?"

"Just waiting for the final numbers from division…" Bill explained.

"That's why I'm here." Brad informed them. "Frankly, I'm not really sure why _he_ is."

"Jack Bauer needed help, so he called Tony. Erin Driscoll and Secretary Heller supported him being reinstated on a provisional basis..." Michelle explained.

"And then Erin Driscoll got replaced by you …"

"And I had no reason to believe we would've been better off if Tony left, in truth with couldn't have done this without him." She defended loyally.

"You're not exactly objective on the subject are you Michelle?" Brad said harshly.

Michelle closed her mouth, her eyes were livid. Bill chimed in.

"But I am. And Michelle's right, I had my doubts but Tony's proved himself more than ever to be a huge asset to this country."

Brad raised an eyebrow. "Did you offer him a job Bill?"

"Naturally. But he didn't accept."

"He what?"

"You know I'm still standing right here don't you Brad?" Tony snapped.

"Why didn't you accept Almeida?"

"The same reason _I'm_ resigning."

Brad's eyes went wide and his mouth opened slightly. Michelle noticed his reaction and continued.

"You know as well as anyone Brad that you can't have a life and still do this job, look at Jack…" she lowered her eyes to the floor, her voice growing quiet. "I want a life. We both do. It's just caused too many problems..."

Brad looked as if he had something else to say but stopped himself and instead, bringing back his business-like tone said "Make sure the status reports are done by the end of the week." And with that he spun on his heel and marched off to go talk to Edgar.

Tony turned to Bill. "Thanks."

"Of course."

They headed down to the conference room, getting ready to make some headway on all the paperwork that remained.

The hours went by slowly. Michelle found it hard to concentrate but didn't allow that to deter her. She did, however, sneak the occasional glance at Tony, who was currently in deep conversation with Bill, scribbling something down meticulously. He caught her eye and smirked. Michelle smiled and turned back to the computer.

A little while later Michelle couldn't stand it anymore. Her head was spinning. She exited the room, telling the men that she was just going to go grab some coffee. When she passed Chloe sitting at her desk, she took her time. Chloe had a look on her face that said she was about to speak. They made eye contact but Chloe quickly turned away, clearly changing her mind.

Michelle was in the break room, pouring her coffee when Curtis walked in. They nodded their acknowledgement and Michelle pulled out a mug, pouring Curtis a cup of coffee as well.

"Thanks" he raised his mug slightly.

"Have you heard anything about Erin?" Michelle asked politely.

"She's still dealing with her daughter's suicide. Funeral arrangements, everything like that…"

"Is her husband still…"

Curtis shook his head. "Divorced. I don't even know if someone's told him yet. They weren't exactly on the best of terms…"

Michelle was saddened by this news. She didn't even know the woman but the fact that Erin Driscoll couldn't even bring herself to tell her ex-husband that their daughter had killed herself depressed her. Now, she was more convinced than ever her decision to leave this job was the right one. After all this pain she needed a fresh start more than ever.

"How are you holding up?" Curtis asked as he took a sip of coffee.

Michelle looked at the floor. "It's hard. I knew Jack for a pretty long time. He always tried to help…especially when Tony was in…" her cheeks burned as she fingered her mug. "Y'know." She didn't feel odd showing weakness right now to the man standing in front of her. She wouldn't be his boss for much longer. What did it matter?

Curtis nodded his understanding.

"Anyway, I guess I'd better get back…"

"Yeah…see ya Michelle."

The long day was finally coming to a close when Michelle decided it was time to say a few words, as she was still acting-Director of CTU.

"Can I have everyone's attention please?" she called over the railing of the stairs that led to her office. "This'll only take a minute…"

There was the quick shuffling of feet as people made their way towards Michelle. Bill was standing behind her, Tony was amongst the crowd on the floor, though she wasn't sure exactly where.

"I just wanted to thank everyone for what an outstanding job you all did two days ago. Thanks to your dedication and persistence we managed to save L.A. from total devastation and apprehend many of the perpetrators involved in these attacks. Your country and its citizens owe you their lives…"

She paused a minute, letting the words sink in.

"But despite all the lives saved by the bravery of many people, it came with a price…and all those who died, including the people of St. Gabriel, will not be forgotten…" Her eyes rested on Edgar when she spoke these words. He was looking down at his hands now. Michelle gripped the railing more tightly now. She hadn't realized he was back at work. "And neither will those agents killed in the line of duty …" her voice quivered with emotion now. Bill's hand squeezed her shoulder gently and Michelle looked at the ceiling. "I'm sure you've all heard by now that Jack Bauer was killed when attempting to escape arrest from Secret Service." Now the words were spiked with anger. This is how these people would remember Jack. He died trying to "escape arrest". It didn't do him justice. That was what the White House had insisted she'd say, and it was killing her. Chloe was glaring now at nothing in particular, she hated this too. Michelle's eyes finally found Tony and though no one could tell just by his face, Michelle knew he was feeling exactly what she was.

"I know the details seem sketchy…and that most of you probably didn't know Jack that well…but I urge you to remember him as the hero he was…" The tears were coming now and Michelle choked them back to finish her speech.

"Once again thank you for everything…"

Everyone turned back to what they had been doing and Michelle turned to Bill.

"That was great." He smiled. "They'll be sorry to see you go…"

Michelle blushed. "Thanks."

She checked her watch. "Look Bill I think we're gonna head home. We'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yup. Fine."

"You should go home too…"

"I will shortly…"He pushed past her and started descending down the stairs. "Night, Michelle."

Tony brushed past Bill, moving in the opposite direction and followed Michelle wordlessly into her office.

"You okay?" he asked, closing the door behind him.

She nodded and wiped her eyes quickly. "Fine." She smiled. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

Michelle grabbed her purse. "Let's go."

The ride home seemed to take forever for Michelle's exhausted body. Staring out the car window, she knew she was close to loosing it now. Seeing everyone, remembering all the people who had died, had brought back memories of all the times she'd experienced this in her career. Thoughts came flooding back to her. George…Ryan…Gael…Paula…there were so many…and now Jack. Jack who didn't deserve to be labeled with "died trying to escape arrest"…to be demeaned like that…. And someone would have to tell Kim. Kim had been through enough and now she would think her father was dead. Paul was dead too. He shouldn't have even been brought into any of this…It wasn't fair. None of it was fair. It never had been…

The weight of the day finally came crashing down on her. Michelle rested her head in her hands and started to sob uncontrollably.

Tony was startled by this, but only slightly. He'd known it wouldn't be long in coming… He debated saying something…offering words of comfort…but he knew better. He knew all Michelle wanted right now was to cry…really cry…now that this was all over. So, instead, he reached his right hand over and rubbed her back soothingly while she let the tears come...

Soon, they pulled into the parking lot and Michelle sat up, wiping her eyes. Tony put the car in park and reached both hands over, brushing back a few stray tears with his thumbs. They got out of the car and Tony snaked his arm around Michelle's waist, drawing her in tightly and kissing the top of her head. Michelle smiled sadly, leaned against him, and said nothing as they walked towards the elevator.

When the door finally slammed behind them and Tony made his way into the den Michelle hung back and allowed herself to sigh deeply.

It really was over.


End file.
